Panthers fall to Wildcats 72-67

Blairsville, Georgia- The Union County Panthers basketball team hosted the Rabun County Wildcats in the first region matchup of the season.

First Quarter

Landon Kight got the Panthers on the board first to begin the game and give the Panthers an early 2-0 lead. Both teams took turns turning the ball over but Eli Underwood made a 3 to give the Panthers an early 5-0 lead. The Wildcats quickly responded and picked up a foul before scoring. The Wildcats missed the following free throw and Lake Hughes picked up a foul trying to score. Hughes made both free throws to extend the lead to 7-2. After a turnover by the Panthers, the Wildcats made a 3 to cut the lead to 7-5. After a turnover by the Panthers, the Wildcats threw it down the court and scored to tie the game at 7. The Wildcats picked up a steal and scored while getting fouled to take their first lead of the game 9-7. After the Wildcats missed the free throw, Jude Ellis made a 3 to give the Panthers a 10-9 lead. After both teams turned the ball over, Hughes made a 3 to extend the Panthers lead to 13-9. The Wildcats picked up a foul and made 1/2 free throws to make the score 13-10. Hughes made his 2nd 3 of the quartet to extend the Panthers lead to 16-10 but the Wildcats responded and cut the lead to 16-12. The Wildcats scored 4 straight points to tie the game at 16. John scored on a buzzer beater shot to end the quarter. The Panthers led 18-16 to end the first quarter.

Second Quarter

Hughes stole the ball to begin the quarter but turned the ball over. The Wildcats scored and tied the game at 18 and Houston Henry was fouled attempting to score. Henry made 1/2 free throws to give the Panthers a 19-18 lead and after the Panthers got the rebound off the missed free throw, they turned the ball over. After a missed shot by the Wildcats, Underwood made his 2nd 3 of the game to extend the Panthers lead to 22-18. The Wildcats cut the lead to 22-21 after making 1/2 free throws and scoring after a missed shot by the Panthers. Austin Taylor made a 3 to extend the Panthers lead to 25-21 and Henry took a charge on the next possession. Ellis scored to give the Panthers a 27-21 lead and Underwood was fouled on the next possession attempting to score. Underwood made 1/2 free throws to give the Panthers a 28-21 lead. The Wildcats responded and cut the lead to 28-23 and after a couple missed shots by both teams, Underwood scored to extend the lead to 30-23. The Wildcats responded with a 3 to cut the lead to 30-26. Hayden Payne was fouled trying to score and made 1/2 free throws to extend the lead to 31-26. The Wildcats quickly responded to cut the lead to 31-28 but Taylor responded and extended the lead to 33-28. Following a missed layup by the Wildcats, Henry made a 3 to extend the Panthers lead to 36-28. Nearing the end of the first half, the Wildcats were fouled and made 1/2 free throws to cut the lead to 36-29. The Panthers failed to score to end the half but still led 36-29.

Third Quarter

Henry got the Panthers on the board first in the 2nd half and extended their lead to 38-29 but the Wildcats quickly responded and cut the lead to 38-31. Following a turnover and a missed shot by the Panthers, the Wildcats scored 4 straight points to cut the lead to 38-35. Kight scored to end the scoring run and extended the lead to 40-35. After the Wildcats missed 2 free throws, they got their own rebound and scored to cut the lead to 40-37. John scored to extend the lead and after a missed shot by the Wildcats, Kight scored to extend the lead to 44-37. John stole the ball at half court and scored and forced the Wildcats to call timeout as the Panthers had all the momentum up 46-37. Following the timeout, the Wildcats immediately turned the ball over and that led to a made 3 by Hughes to extend the lead to 49-37. The Wildcats scored to end the Panthers scoring run and cut the lead to 49-39. After both teams turned the ball over, Kight scored to extend the lead to 51-39 but the Wildcats responded with a 3 to cut the lead to 51-42. After another turnover by the Panthers, the Wildcats made a 3 to cut the lead to 51-45. The Wildcats scored again to cut the lead to 51-47 and were catching some momentum off multiple Panther mistakes. John was fouled and made 1/2 free throws to extend the lead to 52-47. The Wildcats quickly responded and cut the lead to 52-49 and after a Panther turnover, the Wildcats scored to end the quarter to cut the lead to 52-51.

Fourth Quarter

To begin the quarter, Taylor made a miraculous shot and picked up the foul. Taylor missed the following free throw and the Wildcats took it all the way to the basket and got fouled. The Wildcats made both free throws and cut the lead to 54-53. Taylor scored on the next possession and extended the Panther lead to 56-53 and John stole the ball on the inbound pass and scored to extend the lead to 58-53. The Wildcats quickly responded and cut the lead to 58-55. The Wildcats made a 3 to tie the game at 58 and after a Panther turnover, the Wildcats scored to take a 60-58 lead. After a technical foul called on the Wildcats, the Panthers made both free throws to tie the game at 60. The Wildcats took a 62-60 lead after a turnover by Kight but Ellis responded with a made 3 to give the Panthers a 63-62 lead. Henry picked up a steal but Ellis lost his dribble and the ball went out of bounds. The Wildcats scored and picked up the foul to take a 64-63 lead. After the Panthers had multiple chances to score in the paint and failed, the Wildcats pushed the ball up the court and scored to take a 66-63 lead. Hughes scored after rebounding his own miss and cut the deficit to 66-65. The Wildcats picked up a foul and made both free throws to extend their lead to 68-65 and then the Panthers turned the ball over. The Wildcats missed the free throw and the Panthers rebounded it. Hughes missed a long 3 but the Wildcats knocked the ball out of bounds. Hughes was fouled on a 3 and made 2/3 free throws to cut the deficit to 68-67. The Wildcats threw the ball away on the inbound pass and gave the ball back to the Panthers. Hughes was fouled after getting the inbound pass and had to shoot free throws. Hughes missed the first free throw and the Wildcats got the rebound. The Panthers would have to start fouling the Wildcats to get more possessions and try to tie the game but the Wildcats made their free throws and the Panthers failed to score. The Panthers fall to the Wildcats 72-67.